First Killing in 2014 Taiji Dolphin Hunt

This week, on the 16th, the first dolphins were killed in the annual and controversial Taiji dolphin hunt. In case this is the first you’re hearing of this, the Taiji hunt was featured in Oscar winning documentary The Cove and has gained more and more opponents as the years have gone by. Both Sea Shepherd and Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project provide fabulous coverage of the hunt each year so animal rights advocates can be in the loop.

Below I am reposting an excerpt from a post, Change in Taiji: Finite Disappointment, Infinite Hope, which I wrote during last season’s hunt. In it you will find some ways to help speak out against the hunt if you feel so inclined. There is also, at the end, a call to maintain your compassion for every individual involved in this dilemma, even those who may seem like enemies.

As the hunt continues this season, Life As a Wave will be standing with others who believe the practice is out-dated, unnecessary and inhumane. More updates will come!

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Here is the excerpt:

So now, dear readers, is the time when we feel helpless to help. However, as Martin Luther King Jr. said, “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” So stir up your hope that there is a world awaiting us where respect for our non-human animal companions is the norm. Then, take even just one action. Can’t think of what you might be able to do? Let me help:

Spread the Word:

Follow Operation Infinite Patience on social media and share with your friends and family. Ask them to help us end this atrocity.

Educate others on the link between the captive dolphin industry and the Taiji dolphin slaughter. Please discourage your friends and family from visiting dolphinariums, aquariums, or participating in captive dolphin programs like “swimming with the dolphins”

Contact the Authorities:

Help us end the brutal Taiji dolphin slaughter by voicing your concerns to the authorities in Taiji as well as the Japanese Embassy, US Embassy to Japan, US and Japanese Ambassadors to the UN, and the US Senate members of the Committee on Foreign Relations.

This information is from Sea Shepherd and surely there is ONE action from this list that you can do. To make it even easier, here is the message I will be including in my e-mail to many of the above contacts. Please feel free to copy the text and use it for yourself as well.

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to express my dismay and disapproval with the continued Taiji dolphin hunt. In light of the increasing global awareness and concern of our exploitation of dwindling marine creatures, as well as the increasing public outrage (including that from Japanese citizens) toward this hunt, I believe the time for defending this tradition has ended. With respect to the citizens and leaders of Japan and admiration for many of the country’s beautiful non-violent traditions, I implore you to cease this annual hunt and bring Japan further into the more peaceful and conservationist future that is necessary for our planet and its species.

Don’t Sacrifice Your Compassion:

Lastly, I want to exhort you to remain compassionate toward the people who carry out this hunt. I have seen plenty of comments on social media spewing hate and violence toward them, but there is no difference between that violence and the violence they inflict on the dolphins. Not essentially. And what are we doing if we counter darkness with darkness?